Ryan Fox secured a memorable victory in front of his family at St Andrews, firing a closing 68 on the Old Course to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by a single shot.
Fox began the day four shots behind but needed just seven holes of Sunday’s fourth round to take the outright lead before a combination of magnificent approach play and brilliance on the greens helped the 35-year-old extend his advantage to three strokes with three to play.
He suffered a late scare at the 17th but managed to limit the damage to just one dropped shot before safely parring the last to claim his second DP World Tour title of the 2022 campaign and third in all.
Fox finished the tournament on 15 under par after carding seven birdies and four bogeys, one shot clear of Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren.
The New Zealander’s parents – Rugby World Cup winner Grant Fox and Adele – are over in Europe for a month but he did not have much luck during the first few weeks of their stay, with injury and lost clubs affecting him in that time.
However, he managed to clinch victory in front of them at St Andrews on Sunday, before turning his thoughts to former amateur teammate and Australian cricket great Shane Warne, who died in March.
Fox, who alongside Warne had finished second at this event last year in the team contest, said: “It means a lot. To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warne.
“He meant a lot to me and this event and was a great mate. It’s a terrible shame he’s not here.
“I’m going to enjoy celebrating this one with the family.”
When asked whether he felt Warne’s presence out on course, Fox added: “Yeah, there was definitely some luck out there.
“Obviously I was pretty nervy the last three holes. I didn’t hit very good shots, to be honest, down the 16th, 17th and 18th. He was definitely helping out.”
© Agence France-Presse
